Saturday, March 27, 2004.

"A feeling of disbelief washed over me every time I turned the corner onto West Street and saw the immense void and felt the sacred space of Ground Zero," wrote retiree journalist Marilyn Cross.

Cross, a member of the North Babylon Teachers Organization Retiree Chapter, was describing in poignant detail her experiences as a volunteer in the aftermath of Sept. 11. What readers of The Next Step didn't know, says chapter President Eileen M. Zinck, was that Cross was battling a recurrence of breast cancer when she volunteered to help in New York City.

Sadly, Marilyn Cross lost her battle with cancer. Her beautiful essay won a first-place award at NYSUT's journalism luncheon, where unionists observed a moment of silence in memory of this extraordinary woman, who was revered as a gymnastics authority, a gifted writer and a beloved colleague.